Posts Tagged ‘prince nymph variation’

I don’t mean to sound surprised, but this last year the Prince Kohler has flat out kicked butt. You might have the inclination to say, well yeah, it’s a knock off variation of a classic, why wouldn’t it produce fish? You’d be right by saying so, and certainly not disappointed by this particular variant. The flashy olive ice dub collar is probably the ticket most days, and I also love the silver rib and silver bead combination on this fly. I’ve found myself fishing this nymph more and more, especially when my other go-to patterns are not quite producing fish like I expect them too.

Last Saturday I only had a couple hours to hit up one of my local rivers. Due to my time constraint I stuck in town and fished a stretch close to home. Every time I’ve fished this stretch of water I’ve found that Prince Nymphs, and Prince Nymph variations out fish most other patterns. Such was the case during my short trip to the river that day. With water temps in the upper thirty’s, and no other fishermen around I was able to surprise myself by the number of fish I was able to catch in such a short amount of time. Needless to say I owe a lot of my success to the Prince Kohler.

Derek and I often joke/debate as to which Prince Nymph variation is number one. I’m still holding strong to my Black Jack (as do most who have actually given it a shot, unlike Derek:-), but the Prince Kohler, much like its shinny tungsten bead has now taken the silver in this category, which truly is a compliment due to the vast variations which do exist. Of course that is only my opinion, but one fact is I wont be hitting the water anytime soon without at least a few Prince Kohler’s in my box. Good tying everyone, and tight lines!

The Black Jack has been such a dominant fly for me the past three years that I had to share it with my friends. If you tie, which I’m guessing most of you do, then here is a quick fly tying video that shows the few basic steps to tying the Black Jack. If you don’t tie then keep an eye out for these to appear in fly shops around the country. This is one of my patterns that is now being commercially tied and distributed by Rainy’s Flies. I’m not sure whether its the tungsten bead, the slim profile, or the contrasting colors that make this fly irresistible But what I do know is that it works!

My two favorite color variations are the black and fl. pink, and the black and chartreuse. I’d be lying if I didn’t say the pink variation out fishes the chartreuse most days, but on occasion the results are flip flopped so I keep my box loaded with both.

Both a traditional prince nymph, and a typical hare’s ear fished in their original form catch fish like crazy on most rivers and streams in the world. Why there would ever be a need for a prince nymph/hare’s ear variation I do not know. One thing I do know is often times this variant fishes better for me than either of its predecessors. I was introduced to this fly by my friend Phil Tuttle. This great pattern was passed on to him by his fishing friend Joe Price who’s creative genius though of combining the two. It is now commercially produced and sold through Rainy’s flies.

While in Alaska this summer each day I would take a break from my pursuit of chasing silvers and I would target rainbows, dollies, and grayling. Everyone said all I needed to throw was an egg pattern of sorts. I fished a tandem egg rig for a while with some luck, but after a while i decided to experiment a little. My first fly to try was the Prince Hare-e on my dropper and an egg as my anchor. Fishing immediately picked up, and I quickly noticed a difference as the dollies and grayling steadily inhaled my fly.

I still fish prince nymphs and hare’s ears on a regular basis, but I have found myself tying on a prince hare-e much more often these days. It has earned a permanent spot in my fly box as it will yours if you give it a try.